Curator Laura Fried will be serving as artistic director in the second iteration of the fair. Fried, who is based in Los Angeles and has served as curator at the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis (CAM), will be responsible for the event’s peripheral programming, including pre-fair activities, talks, panels and presentations.

Curator Laura Fried.Photo: Courtesy of Art Market Productions.

“We are excited to present a program that is artist-driven, public-oriented, responsive to the most invigorating art practices today, and which highlights the great breadth of work coming out of the Pacific Northwest, the West Coast, and the Pacific Rim,” said Fried in a statement.

Fair director Max Fishko told artnet News in a phone interview that the inaugural fair relied on a committee of curators, but this year they’re shifting gears. “It was always a priority for this project to bring a real curatorial vision and do more with the programming than just window-dressing,” Fishko said. “We decided in the second year to go with a single voice.”

This year’s lineup boasts an impressive batch of exhibitors, counting David Zwirner and Pace as returning participants. Gagosian gallery is absent in the first round, however, but the second round will be announced after the March 11 deadline.